{"id":628954,"date":"2026-04-25T00:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T00:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/628954\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T00:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T00:51:20","slug":"student-dies-hours-after-showing-first-symptoms-of-highly-contagious-illness-confused-for-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/628954\/","title":{"rendered":"Student dies hours after showing first symptoms of highly contagious illness confused for flu"},"content":{"rendered":"

A university student died just four hours after developing symptoms often mistaken for the flu.<\/p>\n

Alexander ‘Zander’ Philogene, an Australian<\/a> student studying abroad in Austria, became ill while returning to Vienna after a trip to Porto, Portugal on 11 April.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with Meningococcal group B disease, or meningitis B<\/a>, which is ‘an uncommon but serious disease that is caused by a bacterial infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord’, according to Bexsero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“It can also cause a severe infection of the blood called meningococcal septicemia,” the website reads.<\/p>\n

“Meningitis B can strike otherwise healthy<\/a> people without warning and can progress quickly and be potentially fatal, sometimes within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

As reported by The Advertiser<\/a>, Alexander text friends while boarding the three-hour flight that he was feeling unwell.<\/p>\n

He reported symptoms<\/a> including dizziness, headaches and shortness of breath.<\/p>\n

\"AlexanderAlexander ‘Zander’ Philogene was studying abroad in Austria when he became ill having returned from a trip to Porto, Portugal (GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

During the flight, his condition worsened and he developed a rash \u2014 a warning sign sometimes associated with meningococcal infections.<\/p>\n

Concerned about his health, his friends urged him to seek medical attention once the plane landed.<\/p>\n

However, shortly after arriving at the airport, Alexander suffered a cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n

Emergency responders quickly airlifted him by helicopter to a nearby hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.<\/p>\n

His uncle Chris Jarmer, who is the chef for Australian football<\/a> team Adelaide Crows, told the outlet: “I honestly can’t imagine it… you get emotional just thinking about it.<\/p>\n

“He was really funny, very smart and witty. We’re all just devastated. We’ll miss him forever.”<\/p>\n

Alexander’s mother Jessica said it was ‘every parent\u2019s worst nightmare’.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so tragic. We\u2019ve cried a river and still do,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was such a gifted student, highly intelligent, and he had a love of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alexander'sAlexander’s mum said ‘he really lived life to the fullest’ (Family Handout)<\/p>\n

Family friend Louise Williams started a GoFundMe<\/a> for Alexander’s family to support his funeral costs.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m writing this with a heavy heart to support our dear friend Jess and her family, who are facing the unimaginable loss of their beautiful son, brother, nephew and grandson, Zander,” the fundraiser read.<\/p>\n

“Zander was a truly kind and beautiful soul who meant so much to so many. His loss has left an indescribable void in the lives of all who knew and loved him.<\/p>\n

“Our entire community is heartbroken for the Philogene family, and so many of us are feeling helpless \u2014 wishing we could take even a small part of this pain away.<\/p>\n

“This is one way we can come together to support them. Any contribution, no matter how small, will support the family through the incredibly difficult days ahead.<\/p>\n

“Thank you for your kindness, love and support during this incredibly difficult time.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A university student died just four hours after developing symptoms often mistaken for the flu. Alexander ‘Zander’ Philogene,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137,1346],"class_list":{"0":"post-628954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}